Though he shied away from fuss and attention, his mother, Carol, figures he'd support her effort to honor local veterans by placing holiday wreaths on their graves at Cedar Hill Memorial Park, his final resting place.

"I think he would be proud," she said. "It is because of him, but it is for all the veterans."

The Northern Lehigh High School graduate — posthumously awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in 2008 — was killed when his helicopter was shot down in 2007 in Al Najaf, Iraq, while coming to the aid of fellow soldiers in another helicopter that was under attack by insurgents.

Resh and Chief Warrant Officer Cornell Chao flew their helicopter into the crossfire, drawing the attention of the Iraqis and giving the other helicopter time to escape. But bullets from the Iraqis' truck-mounted heavy machine gun raked Resh's AH-64D Longbow Apache, downing the copter and killing both men.

Carol Resh's effort to honor the sacrifices of soldiers like her son and Chao is part of a national nonprofit movement called Wreaths Across America, which recognizes veterans and calls attention to their sacrifices by decorating their grave sites with wreaths around the holidays.

Launched in 1992 by Harrington, Maine, wreath company owner Morrill Worcester, who organized a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the movement has spread to more than 600 locations in all 50 states.

Carol Resh participated in the Arlington ceremony last year, riding in the convoy of trucks that carried wreaths from tree farms in Maine to the nation's military cemetery. She rolled into Arlington National Cemetery on the back of a motorcycle to the cheers of thousands of volunteers.

It was an experience she will never forget.

"When we left Maine, there were people who came out of church and were standing there and saluting when we went by," she said. "All the people who lined the route, these people were just waving their flags, you can't explain what it was like."

During the week-long journey, the convoy stopped at schools, military academies and Veterans of Foreign Wars' posts, honoring local veterans and presenting information about the wreath-laying project and the needs of veterans.

Her effort to bring the program to the Lehigh Valley was hatched the day she returned to her home in Lowhill Township.

Resh's plan to cover the 2,600 veterans' graves at Cedar Hill Memorial Park in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, is the first Wreaths Across America effort in the Lehigh Valley, and one of 19 in Pennsylvania.

So far, she has raised enough money to place wreaths at 1,100 of the grave sites, but she is taking donations until Nov. 21. The cost of each wreath is $15, with $5 going to groups that work to benefit veterans or service members and their families.

Mark Resh is not the only local Iraq or Afghanistan War veteran buried at Cedar Hill.

Jesse D. Reed of Whitehall Township, who was killed in action in 2010 in Zabul, Afghanistan; Allentown native Matthew Koch, who was killed in Iraq in 2005; and Nicholas Rodriguez, an Afghanistan War veteran from Whitehall who died in 2011, are also buried there.

She'll get help laying and distributing the wreaths from local Boy Scout troops and the Catasauqua American Legion Post 215 Riders. Mark Resh was an Eagle Scout, and his mother said she wanted to include the Scouts in the wreath-laying ceremony.

The ceremony will drive home a message central to the mission of the Scouts: that of service to the country, said Jim Carlisle, assistant scoutmaster of Minsi Trails Council Boy Scout Troop 59.

"I think the boys need to be reminded of that at all times, that these people are out there risking their lives for their country," he said. "Many have come back maimed, and in coffins. It's something they need to remember, and appreciate what our service men and women have done for our country."

Carol Resh is leading an effort to cover every veteran's grave at Cedar Hill Memorial Park in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, with a wreath for the holidays in connection with Wreaths Across America. She's taking donations of $15 per wreath to cover costs.